Generics/Research

Generic or brand-name drugs for cardiovascular disease? Does the evidence match current opinion?

Generics/Research | Posted 14/01/2011

Cardiovascular drugs constitute a large proportion of outpatient prescription drug spending.

Are generic diuretics clinically equivalent to their brand-name counterparts for the management of cardiovascular disease?

Generics/Research | Posted 21/01/2011

Prescription costs are rising, mainly due to brand-name drugs recouping their investment during the period of patent protection and market exclusivity. For this reason, many payers and prescribers encourage use of the cheaper generic versions [1]. This has been found to have another positive consequence, namely the increased accessibility to prescription treatments and an increased compliance with drug regimens, particularly in the case of chronic conditions [2, 3].

The clinical equivalence of generic and brand-name calcium channel blockers

Generics/Research | Posted 31/01/2011

Companies seeking to launch a generic drug are required to submit a dossier to authorities, which does not contain the results of extensive preclinical and clinical testing demonstrating safety and efficacy in the target population, as is the case with novel drugs, but only limited data and evidence demonstrating the fundamental premise that the generic is bioequivalent to its brand-name counterpart.

The therapeutic equivalence of antiplatelet agents, ACE-inhibitors, statins and alpha-blockers

Generics/Research | Posted 04/02/2011

The potential changes in pharmacy formulary policy, due to the availability of generic versions of cardiovascular drugs, should be based on as much evidence as possible.

The therapeutic equivalence of brand-name and generic narrow therapeutic index (NTI) cardiovascular drugs

Generics/Research | Posted 11/02/2011

There are many physicians and patients who have concerns that the bioequivalent generics may not have an equivalent nature in terms of their clinical effect and benefit. In the realm of cardiovascular disease, this can include such parameters as heart rate, blood pressure and laboratory measurements.

International trends in generics: the EU

Generics/Research | Posted 30/08/2010

Few studies have conducted an international price comparison of generic medicines as it is hard to access comparable data. A 2007 study by Prof. Dr. Steven Simoens examined national pricing policies in some EU countries and related them to generics prices (see Table 1).